Southwestern College: UC admissions

Chula Vista · San Diego CountyCommunity college

In fall 2025 transfers, 370 transfer students from Southwestern College applied to the University of California and 265 (72%) were admitted to at least one campus. The most popular choice was UC San Diego with 299 applicants. The hardest campus to get into was UC Los Angeles (36 of 214 admitted, 17%), and the easiest was UC Merced (85%). Admitted transfer students had an average transfer GPA of 3.53.

What stands out

Between 2021 and 2025, UC Berkeley got harder for Southwestern College transfer students (27% → 18% admitted), while UC Merced got easier (50% → 85%). Compared with all applicants, its students did better at UC Santa Cruz and worse at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles and UC Santa Barbara.

Fall 2025 transfers results by campus

CampusAppliedAdmittedAdmit rateAll applicants’ rateEnrolledAvg GPA appliedAvg GPA admitted
Any UC campus37026572%—1733.443.53
UC Berkeley1602918%22%133.543.73
UC Davis954749%56%83.433.57
UC Irvine2248940%39%323.443.63
UC Los Angeles2143617%23%173.523.76
UC Merced595085%72%—3.493.55
UC Riverside13910173%67%63.413.46
UC San Diego29916054%52%853.453.61
UC Santa Barbara1145447%59%63.413.63
UC Santa Cruz1007777%68%63.483.54

“All applicants’ rate” is the campus admit rate across all transfer applicants that year, including out-of-state and international.

Five-year trend

Campus20212022202320242025
Any UC campus63% (192/303)67% (184/275)69% (223/321)68% (261/385)72% (265/370)
UC Berkeley27% (25/92)23% (21/92)19% (21/113)25% (32/128)18% (29/160)
UC Davis42% (28/67)55% (24/44)52% (30/58)54% (43/80)49% (47/95)
UC Irvine27% (42/155)42% (71/170)37% (66/179)38% (87/231)40% (89/224)
UC Los Angeles16% (24/146)20% (26/129)25% (34/137)23% (50/216)17% (36/214)
UC Merced50% (14/28)53% (10/19)58% (18/31)65% (13/20)85% (50/59)
UC Riverside68% (79/117)58% (51/88)53% (51/96)58% (66/114)73% (101/139)
UC San Diego54% (125/231)55% (104/189)59% (139/236)55% (164/297)54% (160/299)
UC Santa Barbara35% (27/77)45% (31/69)38% (35/91)51% (49/97)47% (54/114)
UC Santa Cruz47% (30/64)59% (27/46)68% (41/60)63% (45/71)77% (77/100)

Admit rate, with admitted / applied in parentheses.

Where would your GPA land?

Enter your GPA to compare yourself with students from Southwestern College who were admitted to each campus.

Source: University of California Office of the President, UC Information Center, Admissions by source school. Freshman counts are fall terms; transfer counts are the academic year starting that fall. Average GPAs are UC’s weighted, capped high school GPA (transfer GPA for colleges). “—” means UC suppressed a small count. This site is independent and not affiliated with the University of California. Admit rates describe past applicants, not any individual student’s chances.